)
 "BCCI defends decision to play vs Pakistan in Asia Cup months after Pahalgam attack: 'If we boycott...'")
 "'Indian players share compassion and feeling of majority Indian public': Ten Doeschate on IND vs PAK clash")
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad preview: The wait for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs is finally over as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. KKR had become the first team to qualify for the playoffs and finished the league stage as table toppers with 20 points from 14 matches.
The winner of Qualifier 1 on Tuesday will directly progress to the final whereas the loser take on the winner of Eliminator in Qualifier 2 on 24 May.
KKR, however, have lacked game time in the last week and haven’t played a game since their 18-run win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on 11 May. KKR’s last two league matches (Against GT and RR) were abandoned due to rain without a ball being bowled.
SRH, on the other hand, have been synonymous with posting record-breaking totals this IPL. Openers Travis Head (533) and Abhishek Sharma (467) have scored a major chunk of the runs this season whereas Heinrich Klaasen (381) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (276) have also stepped up.
The exploits of Head and Abhishek were taken to a whole new level after their unbeaten 167-run stand against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Hyderabad, wherein they chased down the target in just 9.4 overs.
However, on Tuesday, they will be up against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy. While Starc has blown hot and cold this season, consistency has been Varun Chakaravarthy’s key, with the spinner having taken 18 wickets so far.
KKR are sure to miss the services of Phil Salt in the playoffs. Salt (435 runs) is KKR’s second-highest run-scorer after fellow opener Sunil Narine (461). However, the 27 year-old has returned to England to join the national squad ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup that starts from 1 June. In Salt’s absence, Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz will, in all likelihood, become Narine’s opening partner.
Rinku Singh (168 runs from 12 matches) has not had that explosive kind of season and would be looking to make amends for his missed opportunities. For SRH, meanwhile, pacer T Natarajan could be used as an impact substitute when SRH bowl.
Squads:
KKR: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (C), Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey
SRH: Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Anmolpreet Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Mayank Agarwal, Mayank Markande, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rahul Tripathi, Sanvir Singh, Shahbaz Ahamad (T), T. Natarajan, Umran Malik, Upendra Singh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Travis Head, Pat Cummins (C), Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Maharaj Singh, Jhatavedh Subramanyan